Privacy-Focused Project Announces Completion of Migration from Layer 1 to Layer 3! Details Here

Horizen, a pioneer of privacy-focused blockchain projects, has relaunched its mainnet on Base, completing the most important phase of its long-standing transformation process.

Horizen Reborn as Layer 3 on Base: A New Era in Privacy-Focused Project

This marked the project’s official transition from its former Layer 1 architecture to a Layer 3 structure. This step is seen not only as a technical renewal but also as a significant governance achievement, revitalizing a community that has been around for nearly nine years.

Horizen Labs CEO Rob Viglione explained that the majority of the legacy zero-knowledge (ZK)-based proof-of-work layer has not been transferred to the new network, but instead a more modern and flexible proof-of-stake application chain has been designed. Viglione explained that the project, born ZenCash in 2016, has evolved over the years, leading naturally to its current transformation.

With the new structure, Horizen aims to provide developers with practical privacy tools within the Base ecosystem. The project will support both confidential financial services and new application areas like GambleFi and SocialFi with a development fund of 100 million ZEN over the next five years.

Horizen’s approach is based on regulatory-compliant privacy models based on the principle of “selective disclosure.” This allows users to choose transaction privacy while maintaining regulatory oversight when necessary. This policy provides a more balanced roadmap after the removal of confidential transactions from the mainnet in 2023 due to global pressures.

The relaunched ZEN token has begun trading on Base with Aerodrome and Uniswap, while also receiving support from major exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, OKX, and Bitget.

Horizen’s new vision is built on a modern architecture that focuses solely on the execution layer, offering developers privacy modules compliant with local regulations and building on Base’s security. The project aims to achieve long-term compatibility with Coinbase’s approach while strengthening its ecosystem through partnerships with infrastructure providers like LayerZero, Caldera, and Stork.

*This is not investment advice.